


Two, Four, Six, Eight, (Wish I Could) Obliviate

by adoribiliusKermode



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU where Marinette and Adrien have more than five brain cells between them, F/M, Identity Reveal, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a detective, post-Oblivio, spoilers for Oblivio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-12-27 01:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18294182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adoribiliusKermode/pseuds/adoribiliusKermode
Summary: Alya's photograph leaves Marinette with questions.





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette took a quick glance at the time on her phone as she slid her chair away from her computer desk, a particular image on her screen that she was quick to close. _I’ve spent too much time on this already. I have bigger fish to fry._

She stood up deciding it was time to get ready for that night’s patrol. She might be a bit early getting there, but she didn’t have time to consider that.

Her mind was currently on something else. Particularly what had happened earlier that day. She remembered the way Chat Noir held her after she had released the Miraculous Cure.

That part itself wasn’t very odd, it was the fact that she wasn’t holding him back, but holding him close. In a suspiciously loving way. Although she couldn’t seem to remember anything that happened before that, she couldn’t help but wonder what went on that day while she made her way to the regular meeting spot for patrol.

Chat Noir was there not a moment too soon, but still played it off cool as ever. "Sorry I'm late, babe. Traffic was hell." He walked up to her and leaned in, as if to try to give her a kiss. He seemed chipper tonight.

Too chipper.

Ladybug eased herself back from him as he leaned in, her brows drawing together at the nickname. _Well, that was a change from the normal ‘bugaboo’._ She knew something about him was definitely off. “I didn’t realize there was that much traffic on rooftops.” She replied, hoping to brush off the name with a joke.

"Yeah, well..." He paused. "I don't have anything for that." He nodded, leaning in for another kiss. His brow furrowed when she backed away. "Hey, what's wrong? This isn't the first time you've kissed me today. Or...do you not remember?" He backed away apologetically. "To be fair, I don't remember either, exactly, but, uh...I'm guessing you haven't seen the Ladyblog toda-"

"I-I've seen it!"

“You’ve seen...”

“ _The_ picture, yes.”

Chat eased back. "Oh, okay. And I remember you saying something about this conversation not being over...?" Chat Noir had a smirk on his face. _The_ smirk. "Ugh. I really wonder what happened while we were under Oblivio's spell..."

Two things that guaranteed that she saw it:

  1. That photo was almost everywhere, and
  2. Alya had shown her the photo almost 15 times throughout the course of the drive back to the school. She’d barely forgotten what had happened when Chat Noir just _had_ to bring it up. _What_ happened _that day?_



"So do I. Do you remember anything at all? Because I sure don't...especially not whatever happened when that picture was taken."

Chat chuckled. “I have no idea what I did to get you to kiss me.”

Ladybug frowned. "...Neither do I. It must've been something pretty spectacular.”

"Maybe we revealed ourselves to each other? I mean...it's not out of the realm of possibility. And the best part is that it wouldn't have been permanent. So why not?" He paused, grinning again. "Maybe my civilian self is such a catch that you just couldn't resist, bugaboo."

Ladybug's cheeks flushed a light red, but luckily her mask covered most of this. "I mean-I suppose that could be true? T-the revealing ourselves part, I mean!” Chat remained unconvinced. “Not-not the other thing,” She quickly added for clarification.

"Oh, I mean, maybe." Chat shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, as long as we don't remember." He narrowed his eyes, his face becoming serious again. "Do you know who I am?"

Ladybug quickly shook her head no. She truly didn't remember a majority of that day. "I have no idea. Do _you_ know who _I_ am?"

"I have my suspicious..." Chat tapped his finger against his chin. "It's not impossible." He bent down to Ladybug's face height. _Oh no. Oh, no, he knows!_

"Kagami Tsurugi?"

 _Kagami?_ Ladybug blinked, her eyes widening at the accusation. "What-no way! I'm definitely _not_ her." She chuckled. "You've  _seen_ us in the same room!"  
  
"I don't know! You might pass off the miraculous to someone else and they give it back, y'know, to, like, keep it safe..."

"Chat. I think handing off my miraculous to someone else every week is the  _opposite_ of keeping it safe."

"Okay...I mean, just...the hair-”

“What, Chat, because we’re both asian? Wow, racist.” Chat raised his hands defensively, and she burst out into a grin. “I’m just kidding, Kitty, I get the resemblance.”

"Wait...do you know her? You sound like you do."

She hesitated to answer that question, trying to decide just how much she should tell him. Although she wasn't sure what happened earlier, she still wouldn't want to give away who she truly was. "Yeah. I do. I don't know her very well, but I do know her."

"Oh. Okay." Chat shrugged with a light smile straddling his face. "She really gets around, I guess, if she knows both of us."

"Seems like it, doesn't it? Either that or, well. We might be closer to one another in our civilian lives than we think."

"Maybe." Chat offered his hand to Ladybug as they found themselves on the edge of the block, overlooking the river. "That would be cute." He pursed his lips. "Listen, uh...you said this conversation wasn't over when you left the Tour Montparnasse. What conversation was that, exactly?"

Ladybug reached out to gently grasp his hand. After all, she had already held his hand at least once that day, at this point what was one more? “Well, the conversation about the photo Alya had.”

Chat grinned. "Okay, favorite part of my night right here." He extended his pole into the ground. It carried him and Ladybug sky high before falling over, gently setting them down on the other side of the river. Ladybug gently gripped onto him as they sailed over the river, and she snuck a quick glance up to him. Seeing him so happy made her feel strange. It was almost as if she was feeling something that wasn’t there before.  _Jeez, what_ happened _today?_

"I love doing that." Chat turned to Ladybug as soon as they touched down. "Okay, sorry, I was distracted." He paused for a second to recollect his thoughts. "Right. The photo." She herself was lost in her thoughts as they landed on the other side of the river, but she was soon brought back to reality as he mentioned the photo. “Oh, uh-”

He shrugged. "If it really bothers you that much I could always tell her to take it down."

“Oh, no! It’s okay. It makes her so happy, I wouldn’t want to take that away from her...”

"Or me. But I could still tell it bothered you, looking back at it."

“I guess so...I just...” she trailed off and gave a little sigh, shaking her head. “It bothers me that I don’t know why it happened. Why we kissed. I have no recollection of most of today, and I don’t know what I did during the hours I forgot.”

"Ugh, think about how _I_ feel." Adrien sulked. "I mean...I got to make out with you. And maybe, probably more, even knowing your secret identity, and I can't remember a thing." He bit the inside of his cheek. "Be careful what you wish for, I guess."

“I guess that is what they say. I can’t believe we found out each other’s identities, though. Accidentally or not, it’s strange to think that I knew who you really were...before forgetting again, anyways.” She gently crossed her arms, almost as if she were hugging herself. This seemed to really be messing with her head.

“Hey, if it’s really messing you up that badly, we could just...detransform right here and right now.” Chat’s lip twitched, and he backed down. “Although that’s not an option.”

Ladybug shook her head once more, turning to give him a small, weak, smile. “Unfortunately you’re right. We can’t do that.”

“Unfortunately?” Chat looked at her as they began climbing up the block on the other side of the river-specifically on the Ille De La Cité. “I mean, I know we can’t, I never heard you say you _wanted_ to know who I am.”

Marinette climbed with him, letting her gaze wander around the streets below as a way of distracting herself as she spoke. “Well, I’d be lying if I said I’ve never been curious about who you are. I’m even more curious after today.”

“What, you mean you want to know about the handsome mysterious Adonis behind this mask? I bet I’ll make you forget aaaaaaaall about this other guy you like.” Chat struck a pose-something straight out of Tamaki Suoh’s playbook.

She quirked a brow at the interesting pose before letting out a laugh at how silly he looked. “Well, although I’m sure you’re a great person behind the mask, I’m pretty sure that won’t make me forget about the guy I already like.”

“Really?” Chat cocked his head. “Would I know about him?”

Ladybug tapped her chin as she thought. “It’s very possible, you may.”

“Hmmm,” thought Chat. “Can I see a picture of him? Just so I know who to rumble when I run into him.”

She gave a snort followed by a laugh. “Woah there, kitty. I don’t think you’d want to be fighting this guy, his father would kill you.”

"Oh, so he's gonna run crying to daddy?" Chat smirked. "I'd...reevaluate your life choices, m'lady."

“Oh no, nothing like that! His dad is just a bit problematic, to say the least.”

"Huh. We talking Hawkmoth-problematic, or-" Chat chortled. "God, imagine crushing on Hawkmoth's kid! That guy must have a screw loose."

“If he had Hawkmoth as a dad, he’d deserve some praise for having to constantly put up with his father, honestly. I know the guy I like has a hard time putting up with his father, sometimes he’s completely unreasonable.”

"Yeah." Adrien shrugged as he jumped across the street to the other block. "So. Are you still torn up about today?"

She followed behind, using her yo-yo to help her swing across. “A bit, yeah. I guess it’ll bother me less over time.”

"Alright, sounds great. You’ll tell me though, right?”

“Of course!” Marinette looked around. _And we’re right back to where we started. Good night tonight. All’s quiet in Paris._

"So. Here we are. See you tomorrow night, Ladybug?"

She gave a little smile. “Of course, Chat. Have a good night, mkay?”

“Will do. See you tomorrow night?”

“Ugh, hopefully!”


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette got exactly what she expected when she walked up the steps that day; Alya catapulting into her at top speeds, her phone in hand. "Marinette. Babe. Marinette, did you see the last Ladyblog post from today?"

Marinette nearly toppled over as her friend launched herself at her. “Is it another post about Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing?” Marinette asked as she steadied herself, her voice taking on a monotonous edge. She was getting tired of seeing that photo...

"I mean, I wrote an op-ed piece at the end-no photo this time, even I'm getting a little tired of it-but oh my god, I-I legit think they're dating! I mean, why not? Fighting together, confiding in each other, long walks in the Paris moonlight...ugh, it all makes sense! I'm sorry, babe, but Alyanette and Adrienette are gonna have to take a backseat to a new OTP!"

“While all that makes sense, I wouldn’t be so sure they’re dating. I mean after all, they lost their memories, didn’t they? I’m sure even they had no idea what they were doing.” Marinette continued to walk up the stairs, trying to nudge her friend along beside her.

"Ugh, if only! I dunno, I think this type of thing goes...beyond memories. Like, if you lost all of your memories, you'd still find Adrien, like, a right snack! Maybe that's what Ladybug and Chat Noir feel for each other."

Marinette cracked up, laughing softly. “A ‘right snack’? Haven’t heard you use that one before.” Marinette held her books a little closer to her chest. “Maybe you’re onto something there, though. Even without their memories, Ladybug and Chat Noir still managed to find each other somehow.”

"Right? Isn't it romantic? When's the wedding? Not to sound like Chloe, but, uh-I deserve to be one of the bridesmaids, for all the hard work I've done."

“Whoa, hold on-even if there was something between them, their relationship would be in the very, very, very early stages. You’d be waiting for a long time.”

"Okay, okay, I can wait, but still. There's gonna be a wedding, and it'll be a...fall wedding? Help me plan this thing twenty years in advance."

“Oh god.” Marinette lightly shook her head with a laugh. “Don’t you think Ladybug and Chat Noir should have some input on the planning of their own wedding?”

"Are you kidding me? They could design any costume they wanted, but they go with the skintight monocolored pattern bodysuits. Borrrrring!" 

Alya paled. "It'll be a disaster! Chat Noir's going to go for an ice cream cake from the Haagen-Daaz as the wedding cake, Ladybug would insist on not having a wedding train because it'll ‘restrain her functionality in combat’, we don't even  _ know _ what religion they are so don't get me started on finding an Interfaith Minister to keep everyone happy...ugh." Alya groaned. "See what I mean?"

“H-hey, they’re not that boring...and train or no train, dresses in general are difficult to fight in...I-I’m guessing! Probably. You make weddings sound difficult,” Marinette replied, her mind still trying to process all the wedding information she was just given. “What if-and hear me out-what if they just wanted a simple ceremony in a park or something? Nothing too fancy, but still elegant.”

Alya looked at Marinette like Marinette had grown wings and a tail. “Yeah, no. Never, ever, ever.” She shrugged. “They’re superheroes. Whatcanyado?”

Marinette's brows rose as she stared back at her friend. "Right...After all, I guess you do know Ladybug better than I do."

“Anyways...the fact that you’re on board with a Ladynoir wedding is...do you ship Ladynoir? Do I have a convert?”

Marinette quickly waved her hands, shaking her head as she replied, "What? No way, absolutely not! I'm not on board with the wedding."

“But you didn’t say that before~ Listen, like...LadyNoir is a thing, right? I mean, how else do you describe...ya know. The  _ very _ intentional kiss?”

“H-how do you know it was fully intentional?” Marinette sputtered. “Ladybug has kissed Chat Noir before during an akuma attack, this one might’ve been similar,” she reasoned, basically grasping for straws at this point.

“I mean...” Alya flashed the picture. “I took it, I was there. No akuma, no danger, no brainwashed Chat Noir, it was like...pure love, babe.”

Marinette heaved out a defeated sigh. “But that doesn’t make sense. You’ve seen how they act, Ladybug clearly isn’t interested. What would’ve made her change her mind so suddenly?”

“I don’t know.” Alya thought. “Maybe. Oh. So Oblivio, right? Nino and I basically had the power to wipe minds. So when Ladybug and Chat Noir met, they had no context to their new relationship-they were basically starting from scratch.” Alya’s smugness was palpable. “Do the math.”

“That...seems reasonable, actually. They would’ve had no idea who each other were, and things must’ve spiralled out of proportion from there.”

“Yeah. So it’s a fake relationship.” Alya frowned, her lip quivering. “Or it was the most real relationship ever. It makes me tear up just thinking about it.”

Marinette reached a hand out to comfortingly pat her friend’s shoulder, giggling. “Aww, there there. I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir are both just as confused about it all.”

“What, don’t you think it can happen again?”

“Well, it seems like Ladybug is pretty intent on them not being a couple.”

“Well I know she’s not running off with Carapace. Is she, you know...” Alya made a gesture with her hands that was vaguely reminiscent of a Morally Ambiguous Lesbian Cat Girl. “You know. One of those types?”

“Oh-no!” Marinette quickly exclaimed, her eyes widening before she tried to backpedal and explain herself. “N-not like it would be a bad thing if she was! And I don’t know for sure, I’m just guessing from her actions...”

“Huh. So I mean, like...if a cat twink-”

“Alya!”

“-That is to say, a cat that’s also a fairly bangable twink-”

“Alya, Jesus Christ-

“Is basically throwing himself at you, and you did fall in love with him in what amounts to a space of time which never actually happened...” Alya’s head was spinning. “Why not fall in love with him now?”

“I’m sure she has her reasons. Good reasons.” Marinette murmured, her own head starting to spin. Thinking about all of this just seemed to be making her even more confused about things than she was before.

“Ugh. This is confusing.  _ Boys _ are confusing.  _ Blond boys _ are confusing. Just...my honest opinion? Get hitched with Luka and be done with it, don’t at me.”

“I-Alya! I  _ can’t _ do that!” Marinette exclaimed, her cheeks immediately turning red. “Luka is nice and all, but I-I can’t just forget about Adrien like that.”

“Well, I would be hard to forget.”  _ Adrien _ . “Jesus, Blondie! You need to give us a heads up.”

“You just need to look out for me, Alya.” Adrien turned to Marinette. “Hey there.”

Marinette let out a squeaky ‘eek’ as she stared up to Adrien, her cheeks increasingly getting redder and redder. “A-Adrien! Hi! You how are today? I-I mean—! How are you today?” Marinette finally managed to stumble through the sentence.

“I’m doing great! That ladynoir story really put a spring in my step.” 

“ _I know, right?!_ They’re couple goals.” Marinette bit back a groan. _Even Adrien’s a fan of LadyNoir?_ _Is_ everyone _a fan?_ “Oh-e-er. You’re a fan too? I had no idea, heh.”

“Yeah! You’re a fan, right Marinette?”

Ah, shit. “Oh-uh! Yeah! You could say that.” Marinette awkwardly chuckled as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck.

“Nice! I mean...she’s ~Ladybug~, but...y’know, if anyone deserves her, it’s Chat Noir! Right, Alya?”

“Right.”

“What do you like about them, Marinette?”

Marinette blinked a few times with wide eyes, trying to hurriedly think of a response to the question. “What I like about them? Uh, well-” she paused again.  _ C’mon Marinette, say something. Anything. _ “They, uhm...they’re cute? T-together, that is! Yes, they look good together.” Marinette internally facepalmed.

“Yeah. It’s, uh, a shame Ladybug doesn’t agree.” Adrien scratched the back of his neck nervously. "She only sees Chat as a friend, right?"

“A good friend, yes...or I  _ assume _ so, anyways. Though I’m sure he wishes she would see him as something more, especially after today.”

"Yeah. I can relate." Adrien bit the back of his lip, looking down at Marinette with a grin.

“Oh, you can? Really?” Marinette brushed her bangs away from her eyes, giving a little giggle as she looked up to him. “I don’t mean to laugh, but I find that a bit hard to believe. Who could say no to you? You’re amazing, at least I think you are. N-not like other people don’t! I’m sure many people who matter way more than me find you to be an amazing guy.”

“You might be surprised, in that case,” shrugged Adrien. “Preferences are preferences. I try not to let it get to me.”  _ Try and fail, _ thought Adrien. “Why do you ask, are you trying to get me to forget about her?”

"I guess I can understand that, yeah-o-oh! D-definitely not! You love who you love, I can't change that." Marinette plastered a grin on her face, trying to hide the hurt she felt. _Obviously Adrien already liked someone else_ , she should've expected that. "She's a lucky girl, whoever she is," Marinette added quietly.

“You don’t know the half of it,” added Adrien, who assumed he was supposed to hear that.

"Is she local? Not that I would probably know her, I'm sure," Marinette asked with curiosity, mentally cursing to herself. _Why am I asking him all about his crush? I'm just going to make it worse for myself._

“I...yeah, she is! She lives around here.”

"Oh! I'm assuming she goes to our school, then?"  _ Damnit, Marinette. _

“Hmm...I dunno. She might, she might not.”

"Hm, I see..." That was pretty vague. "She sounds like a mysterious girl, whoever she is."

“Yeah, she’s does keep her barriers up. I wish she was a little more open, you know?” Adrien chuckled. “She’s quite mysterious.”

"I can understand that, it's nice to get to know someone fully without all the walls people like to guard themselves with...Maybe there's a common interest you two have? You could try talking to her about that." Marinette suggested, having no idea why she was giving him love advice. It was something a good friend would do, though.

“I guess. She’s pretty good at martial arts, but considering we do that a lot already, it’s not really a thing I can just do, you know?”

"I see..." Marinette bit her lip. _Yeeeah, pretty sure he's talking about Kagami_. Considering he had asked her for advice on Kagami before, this wasn't unlikely. "Maybe...fencing? You're fantastic at that. Even if she didn't know a thing about it, I'm sure you could teach her. It would be like, I dunno, a bonding exercise or something."

“Maybe,” said Adrien. “Speaking of which, do you want to join me for fencing practice? It’s an open practice session today, so anyone can come in and practice. How about it?”

_Wait, change of plans._ Alternatively, this mystery girl might be  _ her _ . Adrien was dragging Marinette in all sorts of directions today. 

From afar, Alya looked at Marinette with an expectant look.

"You want me to-? I-, sure!" Marinette quickly accepted the invitation, although it confused her greatly. _Was_ the girl he talking about _actually_ her? Marinette searched her mind for any answers that would come to her. She didn't think she was that good at martial arts, did he think differently? Had she been putting up walls around him? She did get all stuttery and nervous... _does that count as a wall?_ She was so deep in thought, he could probably be able to see the smoke coming out of her ears at this point.

"Great! You know where it is. I should go, see you in class!""R-right! See you!" Marinette still had that grin plastered on her face, cheerfully waving as he walked away. 

Adrien left Marinette standing there, leaving Alya to re-enter from stage left. "So, uh...is he trying to go for a three way?" Alya cringed. "Eew, does he have some sort of yellow fever?"

Marinette quickly turned to her friend, her grin having long been faded and her hands flying around. "A-Alya, shh! He might hear you! But-" Marinette gently huffed as she looked back to the direction Adrien disappeared in. "I have no idea what he's doing, honestly..."

“Who does?”


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette sat at her usual seat in Mrs. Bustier's class, cheek somewhat smooshed against her palm as she propped her head up with her hand. She had been regularly glancing towards the clock in the room, patiently waiting for the day to be over. Her mind had been a mess ever since her interaction with Adrien that morning, and her ability to concentrate was suffering even worse. Alya almost had to smack Marinette during Fourth Period just to get her attention. 

When the bell signaling the end of the day finally rang, Marinette let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in as she quickly rose from her chair. Finally, the day was over! Now she would get to go fencing with Adrien,  _ maybe he would admit his love for her and they would fall in love-no! Stay on track, Marinette. _

No sooner was her mask and vest on when she finally ran into a tall figure wearing the same vest and mask. Right. Joe schmo rando. The figure raised their foil before lunging.

Marinette gave a surprised ‘eek’ as she tried to parry the attack while partially moving out of the way as a safety measure. She wasn’t too trusting of her fencing skills considering she hadn’t done it in so long. If she was able to move out of the way a little, she reasoned with herself, at least that means she wouldn’t get smacked dead in the chest, right? 

...Right. Probably.

The figure moved back as if he was startled. He moved his saber out of the way, exposing his chest in the process.

_ Bingo. _ Marinette’s turn to lunge at him and try to strike his exposed chest.

She hit home! She sighed, realizing it was probably a fellow newbie-or perhaps her own beginners' luck. She was quickly proven wrong when her challenger took off his mask. "Great job, Marinette! But, uh...I'm going to chalk that to beginner's luck." Adrien grinned. "Hey, I'm glad you decided to come."

Marinette’s jaw dropped as she realized it was Adrien, and she had just managed to land a hit on him?! Luckily her mask was still on, and she was able to compose herself (or at least, make a really,  _ really _ good attempt) before sliding her mask off to reveal a grin. “Of course, I wouldn’t miss being here for the world!”

"No, really," said Adrien. "You being here? Super important to me." 

Marinette felt her heart flutter, and she had a hard time preventing herself from swooning. She was important to him? To  _ Adrien _ ?

He raised his foil while staring down at her. "You want to go again?"

“Oh-yes! Sure! I’ll try my best!”

Adrien slid his mask back on, before assuming an 'en garde' position. And then he lunged.

Marinette quickly tugged her mask back down, barely getting herself in the ‘en garde’ position before she had to try and defend herself somehow. She stood her ground, trying to parry his attack once again. It seemed as though her beginners' luck was starting to run out however; if her parry was successful, she would be leaving a relatively simple opening for him to attack and hit her chest.

She hit the attack away with a seemingly easy parry-and a successful one, too. The only problem was: it wasn't an attack.

Adrien hit hard and fast with his real attack, switching away from his feint with ease.

Marinette was taken aback by the trick, and he was able to easily attack and hit her. Though he couldn’t see her bright grin from underneath the mask, he would definitely be able to hear her happy laughter. “Nice one! I didn’t expect that!”

He took his mask off once again, extending his hand to help her up. "Sorry I knocked you down there."

Marinette slowly extended her hand to ever so carefully and gently grip onto his, pulling herself back to her feet. She pushed her mask off once more with her free hand, her cheeks red and a smile stretched across her face. Her cheeks  _ totally weren’t red because she was blushing, no way! It was the exercise of course, pfft. Definitely the exercise _ . “That’s okay! That was a good move!”

"So...is there somewhere I'm keeping you from? I know you're busy..."

"Oh no no no, I'm not busy at all! As I said, I wouldn't have missed this for anything. Thank you for inviting me, I really do appreciate it."

"You, uh-you want to grab some boba? Once this is over?" Holy shit, was she the mystery girl? Oh, yeah! Take that, Kagami!

_ Oh. My. God _ . Was he actually asking her out on a date? Nonono, she was totally overthinking this. It was just friendly, right? Kagami was coming with them, after all. 

But what if it wasn't? Oh god, she had no idea...There was no way she was going to say no, though. "Absolutely! I would love that!"

"Yeah! Honestly, I know I whine about it, but I never really have a friend to have boba with. Aside from Kagami, who just drinks unsweetened, unflavored, bobaless tea. You and Nino are already home by the time practice ends, so...yeah. I really, really appreciate this."

_...He's gone out for boba with Kagami before? _ I guess that would make sense considering they fence together.  _ Still, maybe this was just a friendly thing, after all, _ Marinette thought to herself. "Well, maybe we can be boba-buddies or something! Alya is usually too busy after school to go, and by the time she's free, all the shops are closed. So I guess you and I are kind of in the same boat, being boba-buddy-less," Marinette said with a little grin.

"Really? I assumed you'd be busier, what with Leadership and all."

Marinette lightly shook her head. "Surprisingly not, I'm usually free quite often."  _ Besides when I have to save Paris, anyways. _

"Huh. That's good to hear. So I can trust you to be free when I'm spontaneously free as well?"

"Sounds like a plan to me! I'm spontaneously free a  _ lot _ ."

"Nice! You...don't mind if Kagami wants to come, do you? To be honest, I'm usually asking her out, so I wouldn't worry about it."

“O-oh, er-, no! That’s totally fine! The more the merrier, right? I’m sure we would all have fun together.” Marinette replied as she forced a smile. 

"Great! It'll be a three-way!" Adrien smiled the most youthful, perfect, innocent smile as he slid his mask on. Marinette blinked a few times before letting out a quiet laugh, slipping her mask back over her face. “Whatever you say!”


	4. Chapter 4

"Thanks for waiting up," called out Adrien as he waved to Marinette from the training room. The day had warmed up, so he just wore his signature short-sleeved shirt and jeans. "I know it took a while." 

Marinette gave a little wave back to the two as she stood up from her leaning position against the building, her usual cheerful smile on her face. "It was no problem, don't worry!" She replied as she walked over, her gaze shifting to Adrien’s bicep.

The short sleeves weren’t the most glaring detail on Adrien; the thing that Marinette and Kagami immediately noticed was Marinette's full name on his bicep. In permanent marker. With hearts and curly-q's. On Adrien. With  _ hearts _ ? Her cheeks took on a light pink tone. Should she point it out? _ No no, it's okay. It was probably nothing? Probably. _

Kagami sighed. It was up to her to point out the elephant in the room. "Nice ink, Agreste." Well, now Marinette had to see it. "Why don't you give us a closer look?"

Marinette's cheeks reddened further and she tried to play it off as though she had just seen the writing now. "Oh, ink? Where?"

"The ink on his arm. Although...Agreste. Is that permanent marker?" Kagami groaned. "I, uh...no? Listen, I swear, I don't know where that came from! It's just...I got back from that field trip-y'know, the one where Oblivio attacked-and I noticed it was there! I swear. I'm so sorry, Marinette."

"Oh, no don't worry! It's alright! It's-er, cute, honestly," Marinette reassured him with a little smile.  _ Maybe Adrien had lost his memory too? _ That would explain why he didn't know where the writing had come from.

"Yeah. I don't know how it would have gotten on, though."

"I have no idea. Have you been around any permanent marker fairies lately?" She joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Ah-huh. I wish. I know this is gonna sound  _ really _ creepy, but this is in my handwriting, though. I wonder what would have led me to draw this."

Marinette gave a little shrug of her shoulders. Of course he would never  _ willingly _ write that. "Maybe you had a sudden burst of artistic inspiration you had to get out?

"You might be right." Adrien shuddered. "I'm sorry about that. Do you want me to put my sweater back on?"

"Please, don't worry! It's alright, it's not  _ that _ weird." Cue Marinette having flashbacks from when she wrote Adrien's name on her hand with little hearts. "You don't have to put your sweater on, I wouldn't want you to have to suffer in the hot weather."

"Aww, thanks! You're such a pal to let things slide like that." Finally, the three of them stopped as the façade of the boba shop loomed over them. "Okay. So what're we getting?"

"I know what I'm getting." Kagami strode into the store to order her unflavored, unsweetened, sans boba green tea. Adrien chuckled and turned to Marinette. "Uh. What about you?"

"Oh, right! Uh, I think I'll try..." Marinette paused to study the menu. "Maybe the green apple one? It's a little ordinary, but Alya ordered that last time we went out, and she said it was pretty good."

"Nice! I'm getting mint. It's a little artificial, but I just love the minty flavor in general, ya know?"

"Ooh! I've never had the mint kind before, is it any good?"

"It's fine! Do you want to try mine?" 

"Oh-really? You wouldn't mind?"

"I mean...do you have a cold?" She shook her head. "So that would be a no from me!" 

They grabbed their drinks and Adrien offered her a sip before he had even taken one. "C'mon, I know what it tastes like. Give it a go!"

"Thank you!" Marinette cheerfully beamed up at him before leaning in to take a small sip of his drink. "Oh-wow! This is delicious!"

"Really? Glad I made the right choice." Adrien put the straw in his mouth and took a sip.

Marinette chuckled, now taking a sip of her own drink. "Maybe I'll get that one next time, I like it."

"Nice." He looked at the straw. "Whups, you got lip gloss on my...wait."  "Oh-oops! Sorry! Girl problems, right?" She gave a little laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.  "No, it's just..weird."  He recognized the lip gloss-specifically, recognizing it from the lip gloss that was on his cheek on the bus ride home.

"Adrien?" He chuckled, looking back at her. "It's no big. Figure the best I can get is an indirect kiss, right?" Marinette's cheeks reddened.  _ Well, if he wanted something more than an indirect kiss, all he had to do was ask. _ "O-oh, pfft! I'm sure you'd be able to get a girl to kiss you, if you asked."

"Okay. Do you want to kiss me?" Marinette turned even redder at that question as he chuckled at her reaction. "See, you know I can't just...do that, right?"

"W-well you could! I mean, who wouldn't want to kiss you? You're the Adrien Agreste. That's like, the opportunity of a lifetime."

"So you do want to kiss-"

"JfuhaidiabcvuebyuSsiuoshdphd-she just said  _ yes _ , Adrien." How Kagami was able to vocalise that was beyond both Adrien and Marinette. 

Marinette's brows rose at Kagami's outburst.  _ I mean, she's not wrong _ . "I-, well. Heh-" Marinette quickly took a sip of her drink so she wouldn't have to speak.

Kagami checked her phone at the silence. “My Uber’s here. I gotta go.” She stood up and left, duffel bag in one hand and tea in the other. Adrien stared at her as he got in the car with his mouth hanging open. “Weird...”

“Yeah, I know-”

“My dad doesn’t let me use Uber.”

“What?

“He doesn’t!”

“No, I meant-Adrien, the kiss!”

“What about the kiss?”

“You wanted to kiss me?”

“Oh, right, er-” Adrien sat back and took a sip of his own drink. "I mean, I wouldn't be that opposed to it."

“Really?" Marinette looked up to him, her expression a mixture of shy confusion.

"I mean...at least I could say I kissed someone."

"Well, that's true."

"But you'd probably not wanna do it!" Laughed Adrien. "I mean, I wouldn't want to mess up our great friendship!"  _ Cockblocked again. _ Cue Marinette’s internal screaming. “I mean, pfft, I wouldn’t say no, but you’re right! We wouldn’t want to mess up how great of friends we are.” she replied in the same joking tone.

"Unless you wanted us to be something else...nah." Adrien waved his hand. It was too crazy. A girl like Marinette? Never in a million years.

Marinette's brows rose as she questioningly looked to him, asking, "Why? Do-er, do you  _ want _ to be something else?"

"Nope! Nah. It just...I dunno, you'll think I'm stupid."

Marinette gave a little chuckle. She was extremely curious, but she also didn't want to pry too hard. "Adrien, I'd never think you're stupid. You're one of the smartest people I know."

"It's just...I feel like you're, y'know. Couple material. I can't put my finger on it, but It's like we were a couple in a past life or something."

Marinette blushed again, but she was quick to reassure him, "See? That's not  _ that _ weird, lots of people believe in soulmates throughout past lives and stuff. I have to admit, though...I've been feeling something too? Now that you mention it, anyways."

"Well, It's a little more mundane like that. Like, it's in this life, but it's like a closeness that I don't remember."

"Really? Hm..." Marinette let her chin rest on her hand. "It's interesting. Does it almost feel like...I don't know, like something's missing?"

"Yeah! Have you been feeling that too?"

She nodded, sheepishly smiling towards him. "I have. I...didn't want to mention anything, just in case it sounded too weird."

"Yeah, well...now we both know what's up." Adrien paused. "What should we do about it? Is it eating away at you as much as it is for me?"

Marinette blew out a soft sigh, almost sounding relieved. "You have no idea. I thought I was the only one who felt it."

"I mean...it still doesn't give me any ideas on how to tackle it."

Marinette took a long sip of her drink as she tried to think of any possible ideas. "I wonder what happened to cause it, honestly."

"Yeah...I mean, when I don't remember things...could it be Oblivio-related?"

"I think it definitely could be possible. I don't remember most of what happened that day, if I'm being honest...Maybe we were hit during the school field trip?"

"By Oblivio? But that doesn't explain much."

"That's true." Marinette lightly rubbed the back of her neck. "It's all really confusing...and not being able to remember things doesn't help."

"What do you think happened?"

Marinette lightly bit her lip as she tried to word her next response very carefully. God forbid he give him too much information and spill the beans about her being Ladybug. 

“Well, it’s kind of hard to explain? I know for a fact something happened, there’s proof of it. I just don’t know why it happened. Maybe you got caught up in it somehow too, and that’s why we feel the same way?” Marinette paused, then shook her head with a defeated sigh. “I really, truly have no idea at this point.”

Adrien grinned. “What do you think happened?” It was the first time she saw that grin from Adrien-it was flirty and coquettish and so  _ Chatlike _ . “Marinette?”

Marinette stumbled for the right thing to say, suddenly feeling very flustered. It was something about that  _ grin _ . “H-hm? Oh-well, uh...” She paused, her cheeks red. Yup, she was back to her stuttery, shy self. “It’s hard to explain?”

“Can you try?” 


	5. Chapter 5

It was at this moment that Marinette felt a gentle tap-tapping from inside her bag. Tikki. Marinette had to be careful about what she told Adrien, and she knew that. “I want to try, believe me, but...”

“Hey, I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable position...” Adrien backed off, leaning into his chair.

“No, no, I’m not uncomfortable! Please, don’t worry. I’d love to tell you everything if I could, but-well. I would get into  _ so _ much trouble. I would get you into so much trouble. I don’t even want to imagine what the consequences would be.”

“Oh.” Adrien froze. “What kind of trouble are we talking about?”

“Well, trouble that could hurt you, me, and everyone else I know. Even people I don’t  _ know _ would suffer the consequences.”

“Oh.” Adrien’s eyes widened. “Alright, well if you can’t tell me, you can’t tell me.” He made no intention that he’d probe further-god, he was such a good friend.

Marinette gently smiled, unintentionally staring at him-if only just a  _ little _ . “Adrien...you’re the sweetest, you know?”

“Awww, thanks. You’re pretty sweet, too.” Marinette giggled as she relaxed back into her chair, both hands carefully holding her drink. “Do you think so?” She asked with a playful grin.

“Uh, yeah! Hell yeah! Y’know, because of the whole-Patisserie thing.”

Marinette cracked up with a soft laugh. “Was that a pun I just heard? Have you been taking lessons from Chat Noir?” She joked, still giggling. “Maaaaaaybe.” Adrien shrugged. “There was a bun joke to be made, but I don’t know if I have enough credits for a lowbrow joke license.” This from Adrien “Three-Way” Agreste.

“Oh, I think you do! I didn’t know you enjoyed puns this much,” she mused, interested in seeing this different side of Adrien. He sure reminded her of Chat. Was he a fan?

“I...” Cue a sharp stabbing pain from Plagg-“I dabble.”

“Really? Well, you’ve sure made some, uh...“ Marinette paused to look around, her gaze landing on her drink. “...quali-tea puns.” Adrien found his cheeks dusted with a layer of pink. “I think I figured out a detail I was missing.”

“Oh? A detail about what?” Marinette asked, her chin propped up against her hand once again.

“Y’know. That time during the Oblivio attack.”

“Oh! Do you remember anything? Is it tea related?”

“Not exactly? But things keep...boba-ing to the surface.”

“...Oh my god.” Marinette burst out laughing, nearly doubling over where they sat.

“Sorry, that was bad; don’t laugh...”

“It’s funny because it was bad; that’s the point!” She wiped a tear out of her eye, still giggling quietly. “Are you sure you haven’t been getting secret pun lessons?”

“Or maybe I’m just the secret pun-master,” said Adrien, raising an eyebrow.

“Ooh, maybe you are!” Marinette let out an overly dramatic gasp, clearly joking as she questioned, “Oh no, does this mean your secret is finally out?” For a second, Adrien froze before realizing what Marinette was saying. “Oh, yeah...I dunno, with you-I’m safe revealing it.”

“Well, I’m happy to know you trust me with such valuable information.” She cheerfully grinned to him, having fun being able to joke with him freely. If only she could tell him her secret.

“So. Do you want me to tell you what I think happened?”

“Oh, I’d love for you to! I’m curious to know what your take on all of this is.”

"I think, maybe...maybe we thought we were in a relationship and were making out with each other, right? Cause I remember a tight, enclosed space, so...maybe that was the case?" Adrien shrugged.

"I-oh..." Marinette turned as red as a fire engine as the realization set in. That seemed strangely plausible. "I...remember a turtle. How that plays into things, I have no idea."

“Weird,” said Adrien. “What, are you...weirded out by the kiss?”

“N-no! No way, I’m not. I’m just, well-surprised.”

“I mean...it’s not impossible! But it doesn’t mean that I’m right.”

“That’s...true, I guess.” Marinette gave a little ‘hm’ as she paused to think. “What in the world would’ve made us think we’re dating?” She wondered out loud.

“Hmmm.” As they stood up and walked out of the shop, Adrien was lost in thought.  _ Wait. I had Plagg with me. Did I detransform in front of Marinette? Heh, I bet she was aaaaaaaaall over me. _ “I don’t know. I mean...we had our phones, right? We might have used those for context. What’re the pictures on your phone like?”

“Oh, that’s right! Good idea! I’ll take a look.” Marinette carefully pulled her phone out of her bag as she walked beside him, being careful not to squish Tikki who was still snuggled up inside the bag. “I wonder how ‘amnesia-Marinette’ figured out the phone password.”

“Yeah...” Adrien looked up the pictures of his own phone. “Oh. Just...yeah.” He shrugged and blushed. “Just some pictures of Ladybug...a, uh...quite a few. How about you?”

Marinette grinned a little as she looked through the pictures on her phone. “You’re a pretty big fan of Ladybug, hey? Oh, and-er...there are a few pictures of you, so I think it’s safe to say we were together when our memories were erased.” She didn’t have any more photos of him from months earlier. _Of course not._

“Huh.” Adrien paused, chuckling a little. “Sorry-that must be really awkward. Are you okay with that?”

“N-no, don’t worry! I don’t mind. It’s okay.” She quickly reassured him with a little nervous laugh. “I promise, it’s alright.”

“I mean, it is a little awkward, making out with such a great friend.”

“It might’ve been a lot more awkward if we actually remembered it.”

“Really? How so?”

“Well, I mean-” Marinette stopped as she tried to find the right thing to say. “It might’ve not been awkward, too.”

Adrien grinned. “Same question.”

“I, uh-” Marinette bit her lip, cutting herself off from saying anything more as she thought to herself,   _ Good job Marinette, you’ve completely cornered yourself. How am I going to answer this? _

“Nevermind, sorry. I am still a little curious, though.”

“No, it’s okay! I get that.” Marinette gave a little shrug. “I just-I don’t exactly know how to explain it.”

“Yeah, I get it. I think it’s a liiiitle more straightforward than that, but...ya know.”

Marinette looked to him, head tilting to the side out of curiosity. “Oh? How would you try to explain it?” She asked with a little smile, curious to hear his perspective.

“I mean...something happened, and now it didn’t. You know?”

“I guess so...that’s all there is to it?”

“I mean, yeah? Unless there’s anything you want to add?”

Marinette paused, then slowly shook her head.

“Mmkay!” Adrien stopped before a large, imposing house. He frowned. “Well. See you tomorrow?”

“O-oh, uh!” Marinette looked up to the large house. Awh, was their little outing over already? “Right, I’ll see you tomorrow...t-thank you again for today! I appreciate you inviting me.”

“Sure, of course.” Adrien smiled. “Unless you want to come inside? My father doesn’t mind you, of all people.” His lip twitched. “At least, no more than any other of my friends besides Kagami.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, looking between him and the house. “I wouldn’t want to be a bother, especially if you’re busy.” Plus, she had only been in his house a handful of times...

“Yeah, you’re probably right. See you soon, Marinette!”

_ Ohwaitohwaitohwait-damnIT MARINETTE. _ She forced a smile, giving a wave. “R-right! I’ll see you tomorrow, then!”

No sooner was she at her own house had she sat down at the foot of her bedroom door and howled into her hand. “What was I  _ thinking? _ ”


	6. Chapter 6

Hours had passed and Marinette was still face-planted into her bed. There were so many options: ” _ Sure Adrien, I’d love to come in!” or “I’d love to spend more time with you!” but nooooo, “I don’t want to be a bother.” What was that?! Things could’ve gone so much better... _

Marinette was only able to sit around and mope for a while longer before she realized what time it was; she was nearly late for patrol. She showed up to the regular meeting spot surprisingly out of breath? What a stressful night this was so far. “Sorry! I’m here!”

“Woah...” Chat paused. “You sure you’re all right? You looked like you just Biked the Tour De France.”

Ladybug held up a single finger to shush him as she stood there, doubled over, and breathing heavily. She still managed to joke between her gasps for air. “M-maybe I did! I could be a world renowned cycling champion and you would have no idea.”

"And I wouldn't doubt it for a second, M'lady."

“Well, good.” She straightened out to stand properly, hands on her hips as she regained her composure.  _ Yeah, this was fine. Right? _

"What's the rush? You're not that late for patrol."

She gave a light shake of her head. “I was almost  _ later _ . Lost track of time, I was, er...doing some things. Very important things.”

"Like? Wait, civilian related things?"

“Yes, important civilian related things.”  _ Because sulking around your room after your own mistakes is super important. _

"Oh, cool. Didn't mean to pry...unless you want to tell me?" Chat paused. "Wait. Are you still on about Oblivio?"

“Well if I said no, I’d be lying. But...it’s more than just that, now.”

"Oh. Okay! What is it, then?  _ Now I'm interested _ ." She quieted, her gaze shifting away from him. “I...can’t say much without giving myself away. It’s love issues.”

"Aaaahhh..huh. Is this the guy?"

She nodded her head. “It’s the guy.” 

“And what happened with  _ the _ guy?”

“Again, I can’t say too much.” She quietly wandered along the rooftop, gazing at the city below. “I...recently spent some time with him. And it was great, don’t get me wrong, but-I messed things up like I usually do, and now I’ve been beating myself up about it all day.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad-”

“It could’ve been a  _ lot _ better!” She spun on her heels to face him. “It seems like I  _ always _ mess everything up around him. Oblivio’s recent attack made things even  _ more _ confusing, and-,” She gave a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know what to do with myself anymore.”

“Woah, woah, woah. You were with him during the Oblivio attack?” Chat nudged her. “Tell me you two got cozy.”

“I don’t  _ know _ if we did, that’s the issue! We tried to piece some theories together, but that’s all they are at this point. Theories.”

“Aw. How does he feel about it?”

“He never really said for sure. He said it might be a bit awkward, but I don’t know whether he would actually mind it or not.”

“Well, I hope he didn’t.”

“He might’ve. Believe me, compared to him, I’m an absolute nobody in my civilian life.”

“Huh. I’m sure you’re worth something to him!”

“A good friend, yeah. I’m not entirely sure if I’m much more than that, though.”

Chat frowned as he curled an arm around Ladybug-a move that was surprisingly platonic and lacking any romance, just comfort. "I'm sorry, Bugaboo. I wish I could help."

For once, Ladybug didn’t pull away from his actions, romantic or otherwise. She actually leaned further into him, grateful for the comfort. “It’s okay. Thanks, Chat.”

“Anytime, m’lady.” He sighed. “I wonder what I did when Oblivio attacked...and how come-wait.” It hit Chat. “Okay, so we know you kissed me (and were highkey into it,) but you also hung out with the guy you liked. Do you, uh...wanna talk about that?”

She gave a little defeated groan at the mention of them kissing. Again. “It’s a bit hard when I can’t say much about the guy I like. At all. You’d know who he is instantly.”

“Huh. But without knowing who he is, were you, uh...with both of us over the same hour?”

“From what little evidence I found, it seems so. Phone cameras are very useful, apparently. How come?”

“Okay, cause...I’m assuming nothing, but is my civilian self the crush of your civilian self? Whoever you are? Because the whole building was empty-it was just us and the akuma. Or so we thought?”

Ladybug’s eyes widened as the realization hit her. “Oh.” Oh god, that was right! The building was empty besides the two of them, that was one of the last things she remembered clearly. Wait, did that mean-? No, it couldn’t be. “Maybe he snuck in after? Somehow? I...” She shook her head, visibly confused. Was Chat Noir actually Adrien?

“I mean...think about it! Was it you, me, and him? I’m sure we got everyone out before Oblivio hit us!”

“We  _ usually _ manage to evacuate everyone...” she agreed, biting her lower lip afterwards in thought. _ It couldn’t be _ . She seemed to hesitate before managing to quietly ask him, “Who are you?” She immediately shook her head, second guessing yourself. “No! Don’t tell me your name. I might be wrong.”

“Better still, who are you? You’re the one with the clue, and I’m still hopeless.” Chat stood there, lost in thought. “Whoever you’re thinking of, would I know him?”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t know him;  _ everyone _ knows him. It’s difficult to walk around Paris and not see his photo somewhere along the way.”

“Woah, woah,  _ woah _ ,” yelled Chat. “Listen, I don’t know your exact age, but if you’re too young for Theo Barbeau, you’re way too young for Jagged Stone.”

"What-ew! Nononono, not Jagged Stone! Do I really look that old?" She questioned, brows drawing together. Sure it was hard to tell her age with the mask on, but still!

“No, no, nonononono! It’s just-when I think “billboards all over Paris,” I think...wait. Laura Nightingale? M’lady, if you swung for the other team you could have told me!” Chat looked almost hurt.

She quickly waved her hands and tried to dismiss him. "N-no! It's a guy,  he's not a singer like Jagged Stone! Although I do like Laura Nightingale's music, I don't want to  _ date _ her!"

“Oh, ohhh, okay!” Chat Noir sat down, a strangely hopeful look on his face. “Could it be...Adrien Agreste?”

She slowly took a seat next to him, silent.  _ Shit, he figured it out faster than I thought he would. _ "O-oh, pfft- _ the _ Adrien Agreste? I, heh-you know him?"  _ fuCK _ .

“I mean...not a singer, but a celeb, yeah.” Chat Noir shrugged. “Lemmie guess, wrong again?”

Ladybug awkwardly scratched the back of her neck. She seemed to be losing her grasp on her calm demeanour in front of Chat a lot lately. "Not exact-well." She quickly stopped herself; she couldn't tell him that. "I guess so."

“Well...yes, or no?”

"...I might have a soft spot for him. O-obviously, I mean, who doesn't, right?" She finally admitted, speaking quietly. She hadn't told anyone that before. Well, except Alya.

“Um.” Chat Noir paused. “I don’t.”  _ Ouch _ , thought Adrien. _ I need therapy. _

"Why not? I mean, I guess all the girls chase after him with his golden hair, and...emerald eyes..." she trailed off, shaking her head to snap back to reality. Had she just said that outloud? "Er-which is what most of the girls swoon about too, I'm sure."

“Golden hair and emerald eyes, m’lady? Are you sure you’re not ‘Chat_Noirs_Girlfriend’ on wattpad?” Chat Noir pulled back. Adrien had enjoyed the x Reader fic, but the writer made him a bad boy for whatever reason-understandable, but confusing.

Ladybug's hands reached up to smack against her ears, effectively covering them from hearing anything else. "Oh jeez, I don't want to hear anymore! The internet is strange and  _ weird _ ."

“Okay, okay, okay! Back to the important stuff. Like:  _ am I Adrien Agreste _ ?”

She quickly looked back over to him, her hands slowly falling back away from her ears. "...Are you?"

Chat Noir chuckled as he imitated Ladybug’s voice. “ _ ~Oh, Chat, we can’t reveal our secret identity to each other, no matter how much we want to! It’s too dangerous! _ ” He burst out laughing. 

“I do  _ not _ sound like that.”

“How does it feel to have the shoe on the other foot?” Ladybug threw her head back with an exasperated sigh as she leaned against the roof on her hands, letting herself slide further backward until she fell onto her back with a soft thud. Hopefully this wasn't an apartment building. "I'm sorry! God-I know you hated feeling like this, and now I'm getting a taste of my own medicine."

“No, I mean...d’you really want to know?”

"Of course I do. But it is dangerous, no matter how much I hate to admit it." Chat giggled. "Aren't you in a pickle, bugaboo?"

“No kidding...” she murmured, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her fingertips.

"Hey, just say the word and I'll say...my words." Chat sighed. "That sounded sexier and more foreboding in my head." Ladybug snorted as she let out a laugh. “That didn’t sound sexy or foreboding, Chat. Good try, though.”

"Still, if you want to overturn rule number one for the sake of knowing who I am, then I am down-"

“Do you really think we should? I mean, Rena Rouge and Carapace found out their identities because of my mistakes, and you saw what happened to them. The both of them nearly got themselves akumatized trying to protect each other.”

Chat Noir shrugged. "It's all on you, don't ask me!" He smirked, clearly enjoying Ladybug's emotional conundrum. She cast a glance over to him, deadpanning. “Oh, haha. Are you seriously enjoying my inner turmoil?”

He nodded. "Oh, hell yeah.  _ Am I Adrien Agreste? _ I guess we'll never know."

“But-“ Her hands clenched into fists before they dropped back to her sides. “Agh, damnit.”

"Hey, it's okay. How about you just assume I am Adrien Agreste?" He curled his arm around Ladybug's hips in a slightly more suggestive way. " _ It's a win-win for the both of us~ _ "

She shook her head, trying to slip away from his grasp. “I can’t, that wouldn’t be fair to Adrien. That would be like-, I don’t know, if you randomly assumed some girl on the street was me.”

"But I'm guessing you don't want to use your brand name as Ladybug to get access to him either."

“That’s right. I don’t want him to love me just because I’m Ladybug. There’s more to me than my superhero self, y’know?”

"I dunno...it might be good to get the door open. You're going to need that to even get in a room with the guy, especially the way his dad treats him. Just a thought." All good advice, but how in the hell did Chat Noir know all of this? How did he know Adrien so well?

She quirked a brow, staring at him for a brief moment. “How you know that, I have no idea, but that won’t be an issue, considering I see him everyday of the week. Unless his dad is being unreasonable again, of course.”

"Hey, just ask yourself when you're with him next: what would Chat Noir do?"

“Hm...I’d probably have to profess my love for him if I thought like that.”

" _ Exactly _ ."


	7. Chapter 7

"Morning, Kim! Morning, Nino!" Adrien hugged his best friend before walking with him over to where Marinette and Alya were standing. "Good morning, Ladies! Marinette, you come up with any new Oblivio theories?"

Marinette was quietly conversing with Alya on nothing in particular, but when Marinette saw Alya’s devilish grin, she could only guess what was about to happen. Marinette turned around to come face to face with Adrien. “Oh- Adrien! Hey! Er, I haven’t put a lot of thought into it since yesterday afternoon, did you think of anything else?”

"Hmmm...well, I was thinking. So I know we were both there, but weren't Ladybug and Chat Noir in there as well?"

“As far as I know, yes. D’you think they forgot to evacuate us from the building?”

"Why would they," butted in Alya. "Cause beside us, the entire class was evacuated in one group. Why would you and Marinette get separated from the class in the first place? Unless there's something that I  _ don't _ know."

Marinette hurried to try and come up with an excuse. “Oh- I bet I know what happened! I, er-I asked Mrs. Bustier if she could excuse me to go to the bathroom, and when I came back, everyone had disappeared. That must’ve been because you all evacuated, right?”

"But what about me? Bustier losing not one but two kids?”

“I mean, c’mon, I wouldn’t put it past her-”

“Hold it, guys. I'm thinking something." Adrien knew Marinette was in there. He knew Ladybug was in there.  _ So did that mean-oh.  _ It all clicked for him.

_ Huh, that’s interesting _ . "I'm thinking..."

_ God, all the signs are pointing at Adrien being Chat Noir. _ Marinette barely remembered securing the building before dealing with the akuma, but she knew for a fact that there was no one left behind in the building. They would’ve noticed. “O-oh, right. I guess she wouldn’t have lost both of us...sorry, what’re you thinking?”

_ Best not to say it now, _ thought Adrien,  _ but I have a clear shot to who Ladybug is. _ "Nothing! Nothing, nevermind." He shot a look at Marinette, a look that clearly meant _ I know _ -or at least,  _ I think _ .

Marinette hesitantly met his gaze, knowing exactly what that look meant. She gave the faintest of nods in return, trying to steer the topic away from anything to do with Oblivio and secret identities. “Right- okay! Anyways, uh. Did you guys finish the homework from yesterday?” At this point, she was  _ hoping _ Adrien was Chat Noir. She wasn’t too sure what she would do if a civilian found out her identity. At least Adrien would keep her secret.

Marinette clutched her bag against her side, slowly wandering out of the school for her lunch break. She had no idea when she and Adrien would get a chance to speak to one another, but she quickly glanced around the school courtyard to see if she could spot him.

Sure enough, he was there, suspiciously alone-and looking as if he wanted to be that way. He looked as if he was looking for her as well. “Adrien!” She called from the top of the stairs, giving a little wave. Was it weird that she felt strangely nervous?

Adrien looked upstairs and grinned. "Hey, Marinette!" He came upstairs. "Just the girl I wanted to see."

“W-well, here I am!” She replied with a lopsided grin, giving a chuckle that was all too nervous. Her anxiety was out in full force currently.

"So...why did you call me, though?" Adrien gave a short laugh.

“O-oh, uh! Well, I wasn’t sure if you would see me or not, so, uhm. I was just. Trying to get your attention.”

"Oh. Okay." An awkward pause. "Uh...how come?" Adrien grinned, pulling Marinette in for a hug. "C'mon, was there something you wanted to tell me you didn't want to say in front of Alya and Nino?"

“Uh, well-“ She carefully wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back before he let go. “I-I mean, uhm... kind of? It seemed like you had something you wanted to say too?”

"Meh. You go first."

_ Oh...Should I follow Chat Noir’s advice? _ She thought to herself. “Uh- right. Well, it’s a little crazy, heh.. _.” _

"Yeah, I bet it is."

“O-oh? Do you... know what it is?”

"I bet I can guess."  _ My lady. _

“Well, a good friend of mine told me I should do this, so I guess I probably should to make him happy, right?”

"Yeah, I guess, but...I'm still in suspense!"

“Good!” She gave a quiet laugh. It was pretty different seeing Adrien like this. He still looked a little confused. "...do what, exactly?"

Marinette looked up to him, smiling. She was starting to see the resemblance he had to Chat. “Well, my friend told me the next time I saw you, I should do whatever he would do. And, following in his footsteps, I... suppose I should confess my feelings for you.”

"Sorry, come again?" "I-well, Adrien, the thing is-I've liked you for a while."

_ Wait, wait, wait, WHAT? _ "Like... _ like _ like?" Marinette nodded. "Like, yeah,  _ like _ like."

Despite his shock, Adrien had to admire how thick the plot was getting. "I...see." So not only was Marinette possibly Ladybug, but she also liked him? "How...long?"  _ Did I say the right thing? Yeah, let's say I did. _

“Since the day we met.” She admitted, awkwardly rubbing her neck as she took a great interest in the staircase they were standing beside.  _ Well, now he knows, at least. _ “And I don’t expect you to feel the same way in return or anything. I just wanted you to know, is all.”

"Oh. Uh...yeah. No. No worries." His face was unreadable-if there were feelings to read. "So...it wasn't Oblivio-related."  _ What am I supposed to DO- _ "Cause I had something that was. Um. Oblivio-related."

“See, that’s where the funny thing is. Since, well, I think we thought we were in a relationship after Oblivio attacked. Ladybug and Chat Noir seemed to be the only two in the building, yet I still somehow managed to be with both you  _ and _ Chat in the hour I’ve forgotten. How did that happen?” She mused. “Therefore, I’m  _ very _ curious about what you wanted to tell me.”

"So I  _ was _ right," said Adrien, who bit the back of his lip with a broad smile on his face.  _ He knows _ , thought Marinette, her heart in her throat as she took a step back.  _ He knows _ .

"My lady."

  
  



End file.
